Elthania
Elthania is the titular continent where most stories in the Elthanian Chronicles multiverse take place. It was home to some of the most ancient societies of Oerth, and is probably the most advanced and civilized land in the world. Numerous factors contribute to how advanced Elthania is, such as the dominance of humans (which are known for their knack for development and progress), as well as several world-changing events that have taken place there, many of which involved gods or other extraplanar entities. Elthania is a moderately-sized continent, divided into several territories. These territories have varied in size, number, name, and allegiance throughout the centuries, as new factions rose and fell in history. __TOC__ History First Era Elthania was home to some of the very first races of Oerth, who emerged from underground soon after the creation of the Orbus Chain, an event known at the time as the Grand Emergence. The continent above ground was devoid of sentient life, and in time, was inhabited by the emerging mortals. A few short years following the Grand Emergence, the land was named "Elthania", and timekeeping began with the mark of the first year of the First Era (1E 1). The mortals of Elthania spent many long years developing. Villages and territories rose and fell, while societies and cultures flourished as the various races learned about themselves and about each other. Though the mortals were at first uncoordinated in their endeavors to build a new world, their gifts of intelligence, vitality, and willpower drove them to achieve greatness. Circa 1E 500, the first stable society of Elthania was born, dubbed "The Romontian Empire". The Empire encompassed a rather small amount of land at first, using both the Converging Rivers and the Northern Ocean as natural boundaries. This plot of land came to be known as the "Terra Triverga", meaning "three-sided land". The Romontian Empire was ruled by a single elected Emperor, who held complete power over the nation's people, economy, and military. Seeing the birth of this powerful society, two more nations were soon formed, though they each differed greatly from Romontia and from each other. Circa 600 and 650, respectively, the Kingdom of Galathin and country known as Feynar were brought into existence. The kratocratic Galathian Kingdom to the East was a nation where only the strongest were allowed to rule, while the Western land of Feynar created a more civilized form of government, wherein power was held by noble families that convened regularly to make important decisions for the Feynarians. The three great nations of Elthania grew, eventually covering the entire continent. Naturally, when the borders of each country met (circa 1E 1,400), conflicts began to break out over land and resources. While the Elven lands of Feynar generally kept to themselves unless provoked, the human-dominant Romontia and power-hungry Galathian Kingdom frequently clashed. Battles broke out often, marking the beginning of the so-called "Dark Age" of Elthania. This period, which lasted nearly 800 years, was a time of great hardships for the mortals. It wasn't until late into the First Era (1E 2,145) that peace seemed possible. As the sentient races became tired of the constant conflict, and as long-distance naval travel became more plausible, a mutual agreement was reached between Romontia, Feynar, and Galathin. This compact, dubbed the "Prime Consensus", contained three clauses: # Societies wishing to secede from any of the three nations may do so, presenting the opportunity for new territories to arise. These territories would come to be known as "provinces", distinguishing them from the original three countries of Elthania. # Once all secessions were carried out, borders between territories were established through much negotiations and compromise. Once established, these borders were to be upheld, only alterable through due process. # 100-year peace treaties between all territories were signed, ensuring that war would not resurface for quite some time. Over the course of about 50 years, Elthania was divided into several smaller territories, including the new "provinces" of Alcester, Dumir, Torrala, Erranon, Celaina, Mesaros, Borna, and Parthian. During this time, many explorers ventured out onto Elthania's surrounding oceans, hoping to discover new land in which to settle. It was during this time that the barren continent of Tonotre and the mysterious island nation of Shaz-Grua were first discovered by Elthanians. After the "100 Years of Peace" was concluded in 1E 2,245, the people of Elthania agreed that Oerth would enter into its Second Era. By this time, the governments of all of Elthania's countries and provinces were fully functional, and the first settlements of Tonotre were already being developed by former Elthanians. And so marked year 2E 1, the beginning of a great many years of development and relative peace on Oerth. Second Era Elthania's second era was a time of great growth. Each of Elthania's three original nations, as well as its smaller provinces, saw exponential growth. Scientific advances in agriculture, architecture, and medicines helped civilizations expand and prosper. Due to the peace, mortalkind was able to focus more on learning about the land's history. Signs of ancient societies were found, fueling a desire in mortals to reconnect with their spirituality. At about this time, the Orbus chain was also beginning to finally weaken, allowing the gods to make contact with a few select people. Priests and prophets arose, individuals chosen by deities to make known the presence of the higher beings. Through communication with the gods, mortals began learning how to channel magical energies (arcane, eldritch, fey, and more) to achieve supernatural feats. In addition, the peoples of Oerth inherited the ability to channel divine energy from their gods through prayer and meditation. Thus, during the first couple hundred years of the second era, magical and divine spellcasting became subjects of great interest and learning. A few mortals were prodigies in these fields, going down in history as great archbishops and arcane sages. One particular group of masters, the Seven Sages, was composed of the seven most intelligent and inventive users of magic. The Sages are responsible for discovering and developing most fundamentals of magic on Oerth. It is said that the group collectively possesses the power of a greater deity, and could potentially control much of the cosmos, if only they would stop bickering with one another. Peace and prosperity went on for quite some time, and was mostly uninterrupted save for the occasional battle over land between two provinces. However, with the continuous economic and political growth came a certain tension. The rich started to become richer, and the lower and middle classes of society began to see a stagnation. Small groups lashed out, and disruptions of the peace became more frequent. The Golden Age of Piracy came about around this time (circa 2E 1,250), as seafaring captains hoped to thwart the unbalanced system of power in the continent through murder and theft. Over time, the tension between provinces became quite heavy. Trade conflicts, pirate activity, and civil unrest contributed to stress between the numerous governing factions. In addition, the economy in both Elthania and the Rizal Empire to the North was seeing a dramatic drop. Trade companies became defensive and competitive, setting up blockades and raising taxes left and right. The first faction to snap was the Rizal Empire, which declared war on nearly every nearby territory. The Federation of Kingdoms was dragged into the throes of war, and the Elthanian nations were quick to strike back. Seeing opportunities for self-gain, multiple Elthanian provinces also turned on each other. This sudden outbreak of conflict soon became known as the most devastating event to happen in all of Oerth's history: The Great War. Elthania was divided by the Great War. For thirty-three years the war raged on, taking untold lives and casting the world's great nations into darkness. In the year 1,363 of the Second era, the war finally ended due to the efforts of the exarch Darius along with several other heroes. Third Era Oerth's third era was a time of rebuilding. The Great War had inflicted untold devastation upon the world's peoples and settlements, requiring all nations to work together in repairing the damage. Despite being forced to cooperate during this time of great need, Elthania's provinces were still bitter toward one another. Resentment lingered on even after the war had ended. For many decades, Elthania's various races did their best to fix what was broken. The first major conflict to break out between the provinces was in 3E 295, when architects in Erranon discovered three legendary artifacts buried deep beneath the sands. These relics were tools that could call upon the power of an ancient entity known as Vlitra, who had been slumbering within the world's core for multiple millennia. With this power, the Erranonians invaded the neighboring province of Alcester in order to reclaim territory lost during the Great War. Utilizing this energy source had unforeseen consequences, however, as using Vlitra's power caused a disturbance in its slumber. This disturbance would later cause the near destruction of the world. The Alcestrian-Erranonian conflict lasted for six years and resulted in Erranon taking back some land. Erranon finally ceased fighting when the Alcestrians captured the three Artifacts of Vlitra. The Artifacts were then dispersed throughout Alcester, and eventually into its allied province of Romontia. In 3E 334, the Four Adventurers of Prophecy met and began their various quests to stop Jüx and other forces of evil. They traveled far and wide, eventually defeating Jüx in Sigil at the end of year 3E 335, a feat that earned them the status of Exarchs. During the conflict, however, Jüx succeeded in destroying the Orbus Chain, an ancient tool created by the Great Divine, Iohw. The Orbus Chain was created to limit the influence deities could have on the mortal plane. With it destroyed, the evil gods Bane, Gruumsh, Tiamat, and Zehir all used their power to invade the mortal realm. This event came to be known as the War of the Exarchs. The Four Adventurers fought off the initial invasion from the evil Exarchs before traveling abroad to warn important settlements of the incoming conflict. During this time, they learned of the Genesis Core, a tool which they believed would be key in saving the world. To retrieve this item, they had to travel to a different dimension where time moved at a rate much faster than that of the mortal plane's. When they returned with the Genesis Core, more than five years had passed. During the five year period, the forces of the evil Exarchs laid waste to Northern Elthania. Civilizations crumbled and millions of lives were lost. This period of great evil further roused Vlitra, who fed on negative energy from being on the surface. As a result, the world began dying. Grass and trees withered, waters became tainted, and the sky became red. People around the world believed this to be the apocalypse. When the Four Adventurers returned the their home dimension, they discovered the objective of Bane's Exarch, Captain Brothis: To secure the three Artifacts of Vlitra and use their power to take over the world. The Adventurers defeated the Exarchs of Gruumsh, Tiamat, and Zehir before mounting a final assault on Erranon, where Brothis' forces were gathered. The 40-Day War commenced, where all of Elthania's greatest heroes fought against Bane's army to secure the Artifacts of Vlitra and drive out the enemies. Brothis successfully gathered the Artifacts of Vlitra and summoned Vlitra itself, hoping to control it. Due to the excessive negative energy over the previous five years, however, Vlitra had become far too powerful to control. The being went on a rampage, planning on detonating the planet and destroying the Genesis Core before moving on to feed on a new world. It would continue on and absorb so much power that no being could rival it. By using a prototype of the God-Denier, three of the Four Adventurers defeated Vlitra in the planet's core before using the Genesis Core to give life back to Oerth. The world was returned to normal, and Elthania was once again united under one government.